I'll Stand by You
by mimimarie
Summary: when George does not choose Izzie over his wife, she leaves town to start over. but when her new life starts to fall apart, she comes back to Seattle in hopes to escape it. but will she be able to leave her old life behind, or will it come to haunt her?
1. Chapter 1

I'd like to say hi to everyone, and thank you for checking out my story. It is my first, so I don't know how great it'll be, but please tell me what you think. Thank you!

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Izzie's eyes were concentrated on the road, though memories kept on coming back to her. Memories from before she left, and after. Especially last night. Last night had been the last straw. She felt that she was making a big mistake, running like this. But it would be a mistake if she stayed too. She knew that he wasn't afraid to go farther than he already had.

She took a deep breath so she wouldn't start to cry again. If she just went back to Seattle…things had been paradise there compared to where she was now. Things had started out fantastic, that was true. But it didn't stay that way. And she couldn't live her life that way anymore, wondering if the next day would be her last, if she'd suddenly push him too far. Her had ruined her life enough. The only trouble was, he may come after her. But she could deal with that.

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She had loved George with all her heart, despite the fact that he was married. And marriage is marriage. He never left her. He chose Callie over Izzie. After she poured out her heart and soul to him…he left her by herself. She had no one left. So she left to start over. Get rid of the drama and the hurt, just start fresh and try to forget about the time she wasted in Seattle.

So she had done it. It took her a while to get back on her feet again, but she did it. She worked at a new hospital, one that had no drama, least none of hers. It was nice to be free again. She never contacted her old friends. She left them behind with everything else.

She met someone new. His name was Nick and he was a wonderful person. He worked in business, loved life, and had no drama. He charmed her like no one had before; she even managed to forget about Seattle and everything there; things were perfect as they were.

They were together for nearly a year. She began to realize that his temper could get bad, and was set off very easily. But every time it happened, he would feel so guilty and apologize over and over until she couldn't help but to accept it. It's like, everybody get angry. Everybody has problems. So he had a temper sometimes. So what. So did she.

But she quickly learned that it wasn't that easy. First it was just yelling; then it got to the point where he started physically abusing her. It was not much in the beginning, just as his temper wasn't that bad in the beginning. But she realized that things were just going from bad to worse and really didn't think it was going to get better. And she was afraid of him. She truly was.

She quit her job, because he wanted her to. And he didn't want her to go out in public much. He didn't want people to know. She could not believe that she had turned into this person, this scared weak person. But he had that effect on her, and she couldn't do anything about it. Well she could, but fear of what he would do overcame and rebellion she had in her.

Yet here she was, on the road, back to Seattle where she had once thought things were worse.

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The night before she had stopped at a store and grabbed two things; a pair of scissors, and hair dye. It was funny; she had wanted to dye her hair for a while. And now she was. Though it was pretty much being forced on her instead of her own will. She had stopped at a not very comfortable hotel for the night, somewhere she hoped was hidden enough, because by now he would know she was gone. She did not know exactly how he'd react. He may not even care. Or he would. She couldn't take the chance.

She looked in the mirror for a long time. She hardly recognized the person staring back at her already. There seemed to be the fear sketched onto her face. There were marks on her face, ones that falling down the stairs really didn't cover. It was funny how many times in the past few months she had fell down the stairs. She would have rather fallen down the stairs.

Finally she began her transformation. She dyed the hair first, a reddish color that wasn't exactly her first choice, but the choice had been limited. Then she picked up the scissors, and after a moment of reassuring herself, she began to cut the locks of hair away, until it just reached her shoulders. Now she really didn't recognize herself. She hadn't recognized herself for a while.

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She pulled off the road. She was close to Seattle now, and she was quite happy about it too. He had hurt her yesterday, and she knew that. She was in pain but she kept going…for as long as she could.

She took a moment to collect herself and calm her breathing. It wasn't the first time she pulled off the road. She felt slightly light headed and wished that she could just get there already.

After a few minutes she pulled back on the highway again. She was determined to get there, no more stops, just ride it out. The signs announcing the miles to Seattle kept on showing smaller numbers, and she counted every single one of them. Then finally her wish came true; she arrived back at the city of Seattle, and she had made it through.

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She parked outside Seattle Grace Hospital. In the visitor's section, which was weird. She stared up at the building in which so many things had happened in. she met so many people there. George, Alex, Meredith, Denny…all people that had impacted her life, all people that she thought about quite often. All people she wished to see again.

She opened the door and got out of the car, wincing slightly as she did so. She shut the door, leaning on the car for support as a rush of dizziness swept over her. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. Once she felt she could, she stood up straight and made for the doors of the clinic, the one she had paid for and named after her dead fiancée. She also hoped that no one would recognize her, because she was not ready for that yet.

She entered the clinic. It had not changed much, to her surprise. It was like she was in there just yesterday instead of two years ago. She looked around to see if she saw anyone she recognized. She saw the one person that she wanted to see, the one person she trusted at this moment.

Izzie walked up behind her and cleared her throat. "Dr. Bailey?"

"What?" Miranda Bailey said tiredly. "I am really busy-" she turned around "-so if you'd just make-"

She stopped and stared at the girl standing behind her. It took her a minute to out a name to her face, for she looked so different, and she looked not well.

"Izzie Ste-?"

"Yeah," Izzie said quickly yet quietly. "Right now I really don't want anyone knowing I'm here, so if you could please just-not say my name."

Bailey stared at her in disbelief. It was not just that she was suddenly here after two years of being gone, but the fact that she looked so different. Her hair was the obvious thing…but she also looked so much older. And she had an almost broken appearance about her. For a moment Bailey made herself forget the girl in front of her and focus on how she knew this look. And the bruises that she had obviously tried to be covered up helped.

"Who did this to you?" she asked.

Izzie looked surprised. "No one did this. I fell down the stairs."

"The stairs," Bailey repeated. "Right. I'm not stupid, Stevens."

"Shush!" Izzie said hurriedly.

Bailey shook her head.

"I was wondering if you could check me out," Izzie said quickly. "I know you're busy but-"

"I thought you lived a few hours away."

"I do-"

"Yet you drove all the way out here to this hospital to be checked out."

"No," Izzie said at once. "I fell here."

Izzie knew that Bailey didn't believe her; she would not believe her either. Bailey studied her for a while, as though she was trying to understand everything without asking. And Izzie was sure that she did.

"Fine," Bailey said. "But I'll be waiting to hear the truth."

Izzie just looked at her. She did not want to tell her the truth.


	2. Chapter 2

Izzie laid on the examination table, feeling embarrassed and wishing that she could just disappear. Bailey had not yet said anything about what had really happened. She was waiting for Izzie to tell her, which made her feel pressured. Yet she couldn't get his face out of her mind. She couldn't get any of it out of her mind.

"You have bleeding in your abdomen," Bailey told her, showing her the results. "And you've had it there for a day or so now, so I have no idea how you got yourself up here."

"Adrenaline," Izzie said quietly.

"So we're going to have to operate," Bailey said, ignoring her. "If we don't I can tell you right now that you'll be dead by the end of the day."

"You can't operate on me," Izzie said at once. "I can't stay here like that."

"So are you saying you want me to just let you die?"

For a moment Izzie had the urge to say yes, so she didn't say anything at all. Bailey realized what her silence meant and said, "You know what, don't answer that question. I will not let you walk out of here so you can kill yourself, you hear me?"

Izzie still said nothing. All she needed was to be laid up in a hospital, a hospital where she was trying to avoid several people.

"I'm going to request an OR," Bailey told her. "I'll be right back."

"Yeah," Izzie said distractedly. Bailey left the room, leaving her by herself. This almost scared Izzie; she did not feel safe when she was alone. It was like she was expecting him to come and jump out at her any moment.

She sighed and closed her eyes. She left. That was the important thing. She finally built up enough to leave him. She wanted to fall asleep, just sleep and escape everything around her in a world that was completely her own….

She was standing in front of him-more like kneeling in front of him, tears rolling down her face as she tried to breathe. He was grinning at her, almost laughing. He looked at the gun in his hand.

"I'm not going to kill you," he told her. "Not today at least. Let's just say you got lucky. Now get up."

She didn't move.

"Get up!" he said again, more firmly and threateningly. She used every bit of strength she could and got herself to her feet, one hand on her stomach and the other grasping for something to hold on to. She looked into the eyes of the man she once thought she loved and hated him with every fiber in her body. She wanted nothing more than to just walk out the door and never look back, to escape the hell she had been living in.

She opened her eyes. Bailey was back in the room, looking at the chart. Izzie tried to sit up but found it quite painful and slowly lowered herself back down again. Bailey looked up at her.

"Just lie back," she said. "We're going to be taking you in in a couple minutes."

"Already?" Izzie said in surprise.

"Yes," Bailey said. "You fell asleep."

She must have dreamed about what had happened…relived it was more like it.

"How are they?" Izzie had to ask.

"They are all off in their own little worlds," Bailey said. "If you want to know you'll have to talk to them yourself. Don't ask me."

Izzie was still looking at her expectantly. Bailey sighed.

"They're okay, I guess," she said. "They're all still here. None of them decided to run away, like other people."

"Is George still with Callie?" Izzie asked in spite of herself.

"He hasn't been with Callie for a while," Bailey said. Izzie stared at her.

"He hasn't?"

"No, he hasn't. They weren't together for very long."

Great, Izzie thought to herself. Of course.

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"Hey," Meredith said to Derek when she saw him at the nurses' station.

"Hi," he replied with a smile and a kiss. "How is your day going?"

"Okay so far," she said. "I have a surgery scheduled at noon. And tonight I'm going out to dinner with my fiancé. I think this day is pretty good."

"Sounds so to me," he said. Bailey walked out of a room not too far away from them and stopped suddenly. She knew that Izzie did not want anyone knowing she was there. And hiding the fact that she was there would be a problem. But to her relief she watched as Meredith departed down the hall the opposite way; they were clear for now. But she knew that it would not last long. With all of them crawling around this hospital, it would be hard for one of them to _not_ find out.

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George looked unfocusedly at the world outside. Today was a slow day for him; nothing seemed to be happening. He had nothing scheduled, nothing had come in...it was a slow day. He never thought that Izzie would come back. She thought that she was gone away forever. It had seemed to be going that way the last time he talked to her.

_"You don't know what this is like for me. I have to stand here and watch you with her while you clearly know how I feel. After everything that has happened you are still right there next to her."_

_"It's not that easy. We're married. She loves me. She doesn't derserve to be put through what you're asking me to put her through. I just can't. I'm sorry. If things- I don't know-_

_Look, whatever. You want to be with her then be with her. Go ahead. I ust won't stay here to watch it."_

_"What?"_

_"I can't do it anymore. It's driving me insane. Being here, dealing with this...I think the best thing to do is to go."_

_"You-you can't just-go, you- you have-"_

_"Nothing, really. A pathetic life, yeah. But that's about it."_

_"So you're just gonna leave us here? You're just going to run away? Leave your job?"_

_"I can get another one. And as for you...you have a wife."_

That had really been the last conversation he had with her. He didn't think that she would really leave at first. But she did, she left without saying goodbye. And she never contacted him or any of them again. And now she was in the same hospital with him right now, though he did not know that yet. They would get their little reunion. And then a lot of trouble would come after that.

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Bailey took Izzie into surgery, thankfully with everyone still ignorant to the fact that she was back. Everything went as well as she had hoped; Izzie Stevens was not going to die today. But Bailey knew how this had happened to her. She also knew that if she didn't get out of this situation soon, she may not be able to save her the next time.

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George was walking down the hallway, looking through charts while he was doing so. He looked up-just by coincidence-as he passed one room. He looked sideways in it and continued to walk until he stopped suddenly, thinking. He retreated back to the room and looked in it again. He did not recognize the girl with the shory red hair. But at the same time he did. He did, because, he saw as he walked into the room, it was Izzie.


	3. Chapter 3

"_Things just- you deserve better than me. After all I've put you through, after how I've treated you, you deserve better. And I'm saying this because I do care about you. And this is just how it has to be."_

"_It doesn't have to be this way. We can find a way through this somehow, please don't give up-"_

"_This is what's best, and you know it. We both know it. I'm sorry."_

_There was silence for a moment._

"_I'm sorry too."_

Izzie had left because he didn't leave Callie. But then he ended up leaving her anyway. By that time Izzie was already gone. And he had neither her nor Callie. He had really messed everything up.

Yet here she was in front of him. It was hard to recognize her at first, because she did not look like herself. She looked older. Her hair had changed…and there seemed to be something broken about her.

Bailey walked in behind him. She stopped suddenly as George O'Malley turned around to look at him. She had worked hard as she could to keep this a secret, but she knew that it would not last long, not with all of them in the hospital at this time.

"Dr. O'Malley," she said firmly. "You shouldn't be in here."

He looked at her with a confused expression. "What's-?"

"Come on," she said, and pulled him out by his arm. They went back in the hallway and she shut the door. He pulled away from her.

"What's going on?" he demanded to know. "Why is she here?"

"She came to me," Bailey said. "I had to operate on her-"

"Why?"

"I can't tell you that."

He looked angry. "I haven't seen her in two years. She shows up here and you won't tell me anything, just mention that you had to perform surgery on her?"

"You can ask her yourself," Bailey said. "She'll be awake soon. But this isn't my fault, make sure you tell her that."

"What-?" George asked, but she walked away. He looked back into the room, trying to get himself to believe that she was actually here. Why, he didn't know. But he sure wanted to find out.

He went back into the room and stood in the doorway for several moments. Awkwardness came over him. What would she say when she woke up and found him there? She hadn't come to find him when she initially got here, which meant that she had not wanted him to know what was going on.

He slowly made his way to her bedside and sat down in the chair next to her bed. He hadn't heard anything about an accident; plus, Bailey said she had come to her personally. After two years, she just showed up with medical needs. Why would she come all the way here if she needed help? He had so many questions to ask her, but didn't believe he'd get many answers.

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When she awoke she was for a moment confused about where she was, until all the memories hit her again. She closed her eyes for a moment then opened them again. She noticed a slight shift, and she saw to her surprise her friend that she hadn't seen in two years sitting in a chair next to her.

"George," she said quickly, and he only looked at her. She figured that he had talked to Bailey; what she told him was what she didn't know, and she really didn't want to. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think I'm doing?" he asked her, with slight harshness in his voice; he was angry, that was clear. He looked at her for a moment, and she knew that he had a million questions that she wished he wouldn't ask.

"What are you-why are you here?" he asked first.

"I came for a visit," she said.

"A visit," he repeated disbelievingly. "You disappear for two years, not calling or contacting any of us at all, and then you come for a visit without even visiting any of us."

She said nothing.

"What happened to you?" he asked instead.

She did not look at him as she said, "I fell down the stairs."

He stared at her. "You fell down the stairs. And you drove yourself here?"

"Yes," she said.

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to come here."

He didn't believe anything she said, and she didn't blame him; she wouldn't believe it if someone said it to her.

"What really happened?"

"I told you. That's what happened. That's it."

"Yeah," he said sarcastically. They looked at each other. It definitely wasn't happy reunion people usually have when they see a friend after two years. She looked away from him.

"You changed your hair."

"Yeah, I'm still getting used to it myself."

"Why'd you do it?"

"Because I wanted to."

"Everything happened because you wanted to do it."

"You don't know what you're talking about," she snapped, anger finally overcoming her. "You don't understand. You can't say anything."

"Then tell me so I can."

She shook her head. He sighed.

"Did someone do something-?"

"George just shut up. I told Bailey I didn't want you here."

"Well that's too bad."

She looked at him again, wiping the tears of anger and fear out of her eyes. She had missed him plenty in the two years that they had been apart, but right now she did not wish to be near him. She never told anyone the truth, and she wasn't ready to start now. But he wasn't going to stop bothering her about it. She looked at him a long time as she thought about the possibility of finally revealing the life she had been living.

"I-" She looked down again. "There's nothing to talk about."

He had been expecting her to actually tell him something, anything, give him some sort of clue besides the old falling down the stairs and the obvious fear of telling about what really happened.

"There's nothing that I should know."

"No."

he gave up on answers and stood up instead. She looked startled and said, "Wait-where are you going?"

"You don't want to tell me anything, and you told Bailey you didn't want me here, so I'll just go then."

"George-" In all honesty it was nice to have someone by her side that she knew would not hurt her, someone that she could feel safe with.

But he ignored her and walked out of the room, as much as he didn't want to. He wanted to be there for her…but not until she told him the truth.


	4. Chapter 4

Miranda Bailey went into the room, expecting to get yelled at. But she did not. Izzie was looking out the window with unfocused eyes, and she didn't seem to care that much. Bailey cleared her throat to announce her arrival. Izzie's eyes fluttered to her for a second, then she looked back out the window again.

"How're you feeling?" Bailey asked, wanting to make some sort of conversation instead of coming here for no reason. Izzie did not respond to her. Bailey sighed impatiently.

"So you don't know how to speak now," she said. Izzie closed her eyes for a moment, then looked back at her.

"I'm used to it," she said. "I'm used to not telling anybody. I'm used to falling down the stairs."

Bailey was surprised but satisfied; she figured that she would break sooner or later. Izzie continued, looking unsure and uncomfortable.

"I didn't know that things would be like this then," she said. "When this all started. I mean he seemed like such a good person. He was kind, he was…. He wasn't what he is now."

"Yeah," Bailey said; she had heard similar stories.

"And I kept on dismissing it. I kept on thinking it wouldn't happen again. But then it did and still I didn't do anything because…because I had gotten used to not doing anything. And I was afraid of him. I made up excuses, I quit my job all because I was afraid of him. I could have left a long time ago. I should have, when it first happened. But I was stupid and didn't. Then it got to the point where I just couldn't. Until this last time. I realized that one more time would do it. I really didn't think he'd keep me around that much longer, and I didn't want to die, especially at his hand. So I left and came here. It was the only place that I could think of to go. This is all that I have. Or had."

"I think you can still say have."

Izzie just looked at her for a moment, then managed to smile. She nodded and wiped away the tears that came to her eyes.

"George was in here."

"I know. I'm sorry but I can't be everywhere all the time."

"It's okay," Izzie said quickly. "It was nice to see him, but now he's angry at me because I wouldn't tell him anything."

"Well I was too," Bailey said. "I wouldn't expect him to be any different."

"Yeah," Izzie sighed. "I just…I'm used to not talking about it. And I'm ashamed. I've made stupid mistakes-"

"And we all do," Bailey said, cutting her off. "But you're trying now-"

"Trying," Izzie said in an undertone.

"-and you have a chance to turn it all around."

"Yeah," she said in the same voice, and Bailey knew that she didn't believe her.

"But whatever," Bailey said impatiently. "Do whatever you want to do."

She gave her one last look and left the room. Izzie wanted to call out after her but she didn't. She really didn't feel like it.

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Meredith came up to George as he stood at the nurses' station, his mind preoccupied. He wanted to go back and talk to Izzie. He was still getting over his initial shock that she was here. She'd been gone such a long time, and he had given up hope that she was coming back. He had waited for a while, overtaken by guilt at the fact that she left because of him. And now here she was, finally back like he had wanted and he was avoiding her.

"Hey," Meredith said to him, making him jump in surprise. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." He was silent. She frowned. "What's up?"

"Izzie's here," he said absently.

"Izzie?" Meredith repeated. "Izzie Stevens?"

"Yes," he answered.

"Where?" Meredith asked excitedly; she'd really like to see her after all this time. "And why is she here?"

"She fell down the stairs," George said with a humorless laugh.

"What?" Meredith said, confused.

"Yeah, Bailey had to operate on her," George responded.

"Is she alright?" Meredith asked, concerned.

"I think so," George said vaguely.

"How'd she fall down the stairs?" Meredith asked. "Did that happen here?"

"I think you should ask her those questions. She didn't give me any answers."

Meredith stared at him. She wanted to know what was really going on.

"Okay," she said determinedly. "Where is she?"

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Izzie opened her eyes to see Meredith standing in the doorway, looking uncertain. She was surprised by her change in appearance. She had expected her to be just like she had two years ago before she left.

"Hi," she said awkwardly.

"You talked to George?" Izzie guessed.

"Yeah," Meredith replied, stepping into the room. "Is there a problem with that?"

"No," Izzie sighed. "I suppose not. I came here trying to hide from everyone. I should have known that was impossible. Or I really didn't want to hide and didn't realize it."

"Why would you want to hide from us?" Meredith asked, sitting in the chair next to her bed and frowning.

Izzie didn't answer the question.

"What happened?" Meredith asked. "George told me you fell down the stairs. But I have a feeling that's not really what happened."

Izzie thought about it for a moment, then said, "I really don't think that now's the time to talk about it. I haven't seen you in two years. So what's been happening? You and McDreamy still together?"

Meredith wanted to argue that this was the time to talk about it, but she didn't think it would do any good. So instead she announced that she and Derek were engaged and hoped that Izzie would tell her when she felt the time was right.

George watched the conversation from out in the hall. He wanted to go in there and talk with them, especially since he was curious if Izzie would tell Meredith or not. But he just watched from the outside, because he could not get himself to do anything else.


	5. Chapter 5

George stood outside the room, rooted on the spot. He was weighing whether he should go in or not. He was dying to talk to her, but at the same time he was holding back from doing so. People looked at him curiously as he passed, wondering why he was standing in the middle of the hallway without even realizing he was in the way. But he didn't even notice the people around him. He was too busy trying to make up his mind.

Izzie knew that George was standing out there waiting. It was troubling her. She wished that he would just come in. he had been out there for a while now, and still had not made up his mind. She thought back to when he had been her best friend. He would not be out there standing. He would be right by her side. She would be able to tell him everything. How times had changed since then.

"O'Malley," Bailey said exasperatedly as she passed him for the second time and noticed that she had not moved. "Just go in there already. I mean it, you're in the way and if you don't make up your mind, I will do so for you. Just go in."

He didn't look at her but nodded. She looked into the room and saw Izzie looking at the door expectantly. Bailey nodded to her then disappeared. After a few moment she was replaced by George, who still looked quite uncertain, but seemed to be forcing himself to make a decision.

"I just want you to tell me what happened," he said from the doorway. "I want you to tell me everything. Please."

She looked at him for several moments, then sighed. He came into the room and sat back down by her side. He still had that unsure look on his face. They stared at each other for several moments.

"Everything started out fine," she started. "I left. I felt that I had to. And at first it seemed like the best decision I could have made for myself. I felt free from all the drama that had been driving me crazy. I didn't have much in the beginning, but I was eventually able to work everything out. I got a job at another hospital and lived in a small, not so great apartment close to it. Then I met someone. His name was Nick."

George felt a wave of jealousy go through him that he could not stop. He hadn't wanted to picture her with anyone else, even though he had turned her down.

"I met him at the hospital," she said. "He was so charming and good hearted. He was there to visit some children. Can you believe that?" she shook her head, and George didn't know what to believe at this point, but he had a feeling that he would agree with her soon. "And so we got together. And he was great, he really was. He treated me like I was the world. He was always polite, he always smiled. He seemed to be the perfect man. Such a gentleman."

He knew where this conversation was going, and he knew that he would not be very happy when it got to the end. But he did not say anything. He knew that if he spoke now, he would throw her off track and she might not be able to continue.

"And it went on that way for a while. And then I didn't have that much, and we decided to move on together. I knew it was soon but it seemed like a good opportunity for me. It would certainly be easier, and easier seemed nice. Things continued the way they were for a little while, until… he started to change."

She paused for a moment as many flashbacks went through her mind. "He began to get angry. Just at little things. He would completely over react and just storm on about it. But then he would cool off and apologize. He was under a lot of stress and sometimes it got to him. That's what he told me, and I was understanding. I knew that deep down he was the same guy that he was when I first met him. Many people react badly to stress, you know?

"But then it started getting gradually worse. He became more and more angry, and stopped apologizing. One night I got tired of it and tried to tell him that he didn't always have to let everything out on me, and that I could find another place to live. And that was when I pushed him too far, and I really began to go down hill. That's when he-he became abusive."

It was getting harder to go on now, but she pushed through it. She could no longer look at him because of the look he was giving her. "And it didn't get better like I had hoped it would. I kept on making excuses because…I was scared. And I had nothing, because I had been living with him. And if I did anything, I knew that he'd just…." She shook her head. "I quit my job. Too many questions and too many lies. And plus he didn't even want me to go. He didn't trust me. He hardly let me leave the house. And I just kept on living with it. After a while there seemed like there was no other choice

"But then the other night happened. I had never seen him that bad, and trust me, I've seen him pretty crazy. He could have killed me easily. In a second. But he didn't. Not at that moment. Later he would have, I am sure of that. So that is why I left. I didn't want to die at his hands. So I came here. Because I didn't know what else to do."

There was a strong silence where he just looked at her. She knew he was doing so and it made her highly uncomfortable. She did not know what he would do or say. She waited nervously for him to break the silence, for she had no idea what to say.

"Do you think he'll come after you?" George asked abruptly.

She looked at him. His expression was hard to read; it was a mixture of emotions.

"Yes," she said truthfully. "I left him. And that is unacceptable."

"So what are you going to do?"

It took her a moment to answer. "I don't know. I really don't know. And that's the truth."


End file.
